Shippers’ Council, Others Condemn Police Detention Orders on Cleared Containers
Dr. Akutah
• Accuse police of derailing trade facilitation
By Francis Ugwoke
The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) as the ports economic regulator and other stakeholders have condemned incessant placement of detention orders on duly cleared containers at the nation’s seaports by maritime police.
This is coming after series of assurances by the Maritime Police to check such orders that have continued over the years.
The ports economic regulator and other stakeholders said such practice by the police is having a big toll on trade facilitation and efficiency on clearance of goods at the nation’s ports.
According to the stakeholders, the police action is causing increased demurrage/storage charges for shippers with the effect on the cost of doing business at the ports which are usually transferred to the final consumers.
Speaking at a workshop under the theme, “Facilitating Port Efficiency: The Strategic Role of Maritime Police,” the Executive Secretary of the NSC, Dr. Pius Akutah, was full of lamentations that incessant detention orders by police have continued to disrupt cargo dwell time, leading to delays and negative impact on the overall cost of operations.
In the workshop organised by the Council in collaboration with the Nigerian Police, Maritime Police Command, Akutah who was represented on the occasion by the Director of Regulatory Services Department, Mrs. Margaret Ogbonnah, said that while it takes only six hours to clear containerized cargo at port of Singapore, seven days in Lome ports, it takes an average of 21 days or more to clear cargo at the Nigerian ports.
Akutah who observed that though the Council had in the past engaged the leadership of the Police to streamline processes, infractions still occur on claims by maritime police officers posted to the seaports who often say their action was based on intelligence reports.
He stated that the purpose of the workshop was to build capacity and enlighten police officers on ports operation in the area of their statutory role to check abuses.
According to him, “The Nigerian seaports has constantly been reputed as one of the ports with the longest cargo dwell time in the world. This is so, because, while it takes only 6 hours to clear a containerized cargo in Singapore port, 7 days in Lome port, it takes an average of 21 days or more in Nigerian ports. This (in addition to other factors) consequently, affected the global perception index on Ease of Doing Business (EDB) in Nigerian seaports.
“Several efforts by the Government to reduce cargo dwell-time at our ports have not yielded desired result due to a number of factors, worst of which is the human factor. However, as the Economic Regulator of the Ports, NSC has the responsibility of ensuring that efficiency is established in the ports in order to attract ignorance.
“Pursuant to its regulatory mandate, the NSC has been collaborating with several agencies to ensure the facilitation of trade and ease of movement of cargo outside the ports to avoid congestion.
“However, several reports that were brought to the attention of NSC by stakeholders, pointed to; incessant interference in the cargo clearance processes, placement of detention orders on duly cleared cargoes, thereby barring its exit from the port terminals and intimidation of personnels of Shipping line agencies and terminals. The officers usually claimed they were acting on intelligence reports”.
Also speaking on the occasion, representatives of terminal operators said they have continued to receive detention orders from the Maritime Police.
An official of Five Star Logistics terminal, Kenneth Nnana, disclosed that the terminal received several detention letters from the police to block about 2,200 containers from leaving the ports.
Similarly, an official of Mediterranean Shipping Company,
Nigeria Limited, Dimeji Gbadebo, also said detention orders by the ports police have continued to cause delays at the ports which lead to payment of high demurrage by owners.
Gbadebo said, “For us as shipping lines our equipment is so important to us. And we are more particular about the turn around of this equipment. Even though demurrage charges we add to our revenue, we do not fancy it.
“A situation where an alert will come and containers will be detained for several days, sometimes weeks, is something that is mitigating against the ease of doing business.
“We want the Police authority, to help look into this issue. I can mention relatively several incessant alert letters that we have received from maritime Police. It is enormous.
“I want to appeal to the authority of Maritime Police to see a way through which they can liaise with other security agencies or perhaps even with other agencies at the port, to ensure speedy investigation is done, if there is any need for that and allow the customer to take their container as quickly as possible, ”
The Registrar of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarder (NAGAFF) Academy, Francis Omotosho, also condemned the action of the police at the ports, expressing concerns that they have been adding negatively to the cost of cargo clearance at the ports.
According to him, it was wrong to place detention orders on goods already released by the Customs.
Omotosho said, “If there’s need to flag down any container, attention of customs or shippers council should be called to it.
“You don’t have a right to delay the cargo. If you have an investigation to carry out, nobody says you should not carry out the investigation but you have to do that under 24 hours”.
The NAGAFF registrar recommended that there should be an Admiralty Court inside the port to resolve such issues as fast as possible.
In his response , the Assistant Inspection General of Police, Chinedu Oko who was represented on the occasion by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Chukwuemeka Obasi, insisted that the Police has the right to stop containers even after clearance by the Customs based on intelligence gathering.
He however said there was the need to harmonize intelligence to check delays on the cases of multiple police units blocking cargo movement.
He promised that the maritime police command is committed to ensuring that ports operate in a secure, transparent and orderly environment.
According to him, “If containers are examined at the port, they can never be 100 precent correct. For example, in the course of containers exiting the port another arm of customs unit decides to flag it down because of intelligence that was not available at the time of exit, will you tell them they can’t intercept it if they find offensive goods because it has already been examined at the port?
“Last week, a container was examined and exited the port, we got intelligence that it should be flagged down and when it was re examined, brand new Ak47s were discovered. It is not all intelligence report we can share with the public
“True port efficiency cannot be achieved by one institution alone. It demands synergy between the Maritime Police, port authorities, shippers, freight forwarders, and the private sector. Every stakeholder has a role in ensuring security compliance, timely reporting of threats, and adherence to regulations.
“The Maritime Police must continue to evolve not as an obstruction to trade, but as a strategic enabler of maritime commerce. Through intelligence-driven operations, technology adoption, and cross-agency cooperation, we can transform Nigeria’s ports into hubs of safety, trust, and economic prosperity.
“With continued collaboration, investment in capacity, and institutional discipline, we can achieve a port system that meets international standards and contributes meaningfully to Nigeria’s blue economy vision”.
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